Carmelo Anthony fires Knicks past feisty Hornets, reaches 20,000 points

Carmelo Anthony had 28 points on Sunday night, taking him past 20,000 for his career as he led the New York Knicks to a 96-93 win over the Charlotte Hornets in the NBA.

New York Knicks' Carmelo Anthony attempts a shot during a 96-93 NBA victory over the Charlotte Hornets on Sunday at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Bill Kostroun / AP / November 2, 2014

Before forcing his way to New York, Carmelo Anthony recalled how he marvelled at the numbers that Denver Nuggets teammate Allen Iverson had posted in his career.

On Sunday night, Anthony joined his former teammate, becoming the sixth youngest to join the NBA’s 20,000 point club, with a 28-point performance. Anthony also hit the go-ahead basket with 1:23 remaining, leading the New York Knicks to a 96-63 victory over the Charlotte Hornets.

“I never thought I would be here actually talking about me reaching that milestone,” Anthony said. “I’m definitely humbled by this experience. I (guess I) got more to go.”

Anthony, a seven-time all-star, who started off the night with 19,997 points, notched his 19,999th point after hitting a basket in the opening seconds of the game. With 7:42 remaining in the opening quarter, point guard Shane Larkin found an open Anthony on the wing for a three-pointer, becoming the 40th player in league history to score over 20,000 points in their careers.

Al Jefferson had 21 points and Gary Neal added 17 points off the bench for the Hornets (1-2), who lost their second straight.

Charlotte’s guard Michael Kidd-Gilchrist fell awkwardly late in the first quarter and did not return to the game. According to the team’s spokesman, Kidd-Gilchrist was taken to a New York City area hospital for a CT scan that revealed a rib contusion.

Amare Stoudemire had 17 points and 10 rebounds off the bench for the Knicks (2-1), who won their second straight. Iman Shumpert added 15 points.

Stoudemire, who recorded the Knicks’ first double-double of the season, might have joined the 20,000-point club if not for a rash of knee operations that have limited him from being on the court over the last three seasons.

“That means you put in a lot of work in this league, you stay injury free and you put a lot of work in practice, a lot of repetition that goes into being that efficient within the games,” he said.

Rookie head coach Derek Fisher came away impressed with the Knicks’ defensive effort in the final 2:23 of the game as the New York defence paved the way for the victory by forcing three of Charlotte’s 12 turnovers down the stretch.

“Their effort in just trying to do what we’re asking them to do is really high,” Fisher said. “Even though we are making some mistakes, we are still making it hard for teams to score in a lot of situations.”

With 2:49 remaining Charlotte’s Kemba Walker scored on a reverse lay-up to extend the Hornets’ lead to 93-90. After Lance Stephenson was called for travelling, Knicks backup point guard Pablo Prigioni found an open Shumpert, who hit a three-pointer with 2:06 left, to even the game 93-all.

Walker then missed a layup with 1:42 to play, setting up Anthony’s 15-foot jumper gave the Knicks the lead for good, 95-93. Stephenson then followed that up with another costly turnover that resulted in a steal by Shumpert with 1:00 to go.

After Anthony missed a jumper, the Knicks were called for a shot clock violation. Charlotte called a 20-second timeout but Stephenson was whistled for a 5-second violation as he failed to inbound the ball in time.

The Brooklyn product couldn’t agree with the referee’s decision.

“I don’t think it was five second, more like three,” Stephenson said.

Walker, the New York City product who had 14 points, had a chance to tie the game with three seconds left in the game but missed on a contested pull up jumper. Anthony then sealed New York’s win with a free throw that extended the lead, 96-93.

AROUND THE LEAGUE

Heat 107, Raptors 102

Chris Bosh scored 21 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, and Miami beat Toronto for the 16th straight time.

Dwyane Wade added 19 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists for the Heat (3-0), who are the last unbeaten team in the Eastern Conference. Luol Deng scored 18, Shawne Williams added 16, and Mario Chalmers finished with 12 for Miami.

DeMar DeRozan scored 30 points for Toronto (2-1), who haven’t beaten Miami since January 27, 2010.

Kyle Lowry added 22 points, including a layup that got the Raptors within four with 21 seconds left. Jonas Valanciunas scored 14, and Greivis Vasquez finished with 12 for Toronto, who were outrebounded 43-28.

Miami led by as many as 16 late in the third quarter before the Raptors came roaring back.

Kings 98, Clippers 92

DeMarcus Cousins had 34 points and 17 rebounds, Rudy Gay added 25 points, and Sacramento handed the poor-shooting Los Angeles Clippers their first loss.

The Kings (2-1) rallied from a 10-point deficit in the third quarter and outscored the Clippers 28-18 in the fourth. They took the lead for good on a layup by Gay with just under six minutes to play.

Blake Griffin and Spencer Hawes both scored 17 points to lead five Clippers in double figures. Chris Paul had 16 points and 11 assists, JJ Redick had 12 points, and Jordan Farmar 10.

The Clippers (2-1) struggled for the third straight game, shooting 33-of-88. They were 9-of-31 from three-point range, with Matt Barnes, Paul and Redick combining to miss a slew in the fourth.

Sacramento’s Darren Collison scored 14 points in his first game against his former team.

Warriors 95, Trail Blazers 90

Klay Thompson scored 29 points, including a go-ahead jumper with 8.7 seconds left, and the Golden State Warriors defeated Portland.

The victory gives the Warriors three straight wins to open the season – their best start since 1994/95 when they opened 5-0.

LaMarcus Aldridge had 26 points and 13 rebounds to lead the Blazers, who dropped to 1-2 to start the season.

After wrestling for the lead throughout the fourth quarter, Aldridge’s layup and a fadeaway jumper with 2:01 left gave Portland a narrow 90-88 lead.

Andre Iguodala missed the second of a pair of free throws for Golden State with 26.3 seconds to go to keep the Blazers in front. But Thompson nailed the running jumper to give the Warriors a 91-90 lead.

Steph Curry made free throws the rest of the way for the final margin. Curry finished with 21 points for the Warriors.